Someday

Someday, I will return to my life in which I can maintain my blog with all the delicious details of living. In the meantime, I'll post a great article I stumbled upon.

Why (and How) Creative People Need to Say “No”

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2013/07/31/why-and-how-creative-people-need-to-say-no/

Enjoy.

Spirituality & Practice

Spirituality & Practice

Wallet Project

Over at Modest Maven, she has come up with a dynamic tutorial for how to make this cute wallet.

DIY Book Sling

When my kids were little, we always had lots of books around the house. All three of my young’ins were early readers. My husband and I enjoyed reading to them. Picking up a book and settling into a bed or a cozy chair was something that occurred often.

I would have like to have had a couple of these Book Slings in the kids’s room back then.

This great idea is from Modern Day Moms Blog. Here’s the tutorial. 

Another TO DO added my my list for someday. . . 

Continuing Saga: Organizing MY STUFF

In my quest to ‘have a place for everything and everything in its place’ I stumbled upon the cutest mannequin holders.  

I was delighted to find these on Amazon. (I’m a huge fan of Amazon Prime!! free shipping!) No they didn’t pay me to write that. We live ‘in the middle of nowhere’ and getting materials and supplies for my many projects is a BIG DEAL.  We have a 40-60 minute drive to any commercial area.

I have a love of mannequins, especially the metal ones. I have two mannequins in my studio for displaying my work.

I’ve named her Queen Betty.

She does a lovely job of displaying my belts and scarves. All but the scarf on the right are my woven creations.

Jam Labels

Maybe I’m weird but I like labels. P-touch machines have changed my life.  So it’s no wonder that I LOVE this new site, The Jam Labelizer, where you can create and print your own labels for your culinary delights.

Another restart. Doesn’t ‘restart’ explain my way of life?

Starting again. Not a new beginning. I’ve already been born and have reinvented myself a couple of times. Let’s just call it a new chapter.

My occasional postings will remain occasional. My life is as busy as ever. My health is the best it has been for ‘as long as I can remember.’ Yippeee!

Today I need to post a couple of pictures that I want to add to my Pinterest account. If you haven’t discover Pinterest yet, do so immediately. It is now my biggest time devouring computer activity. I enjoy seeing what other creative people have found on the web. It is so cool.

Recently, I decided to dive into my jumble of a jewelry drawer.  I searched Pinterest for ideas for how to organize and store my jewelry. There were lots of ideas from using the tines of a garden rake to buying expensive hanging  jewelry cabinets.  I liked the idea of using the new ’S’ shower hoods on a towel rack. I think I first saw this on my daughter in law’s site.  Thanks Katie. BTW She has great blog called The Bell Abode.

I had put a towel rack in my closet when we first move in. It had a chip in the enamel  and therefore couldn’t use in the bathroom. I never really used it much. After a quick trip to Lowes for the ’S’ hooks and Voila! my necklaces are sitting pretty.

Send an E-mail to Yourself Next Year with FutureMe.org

Send an E-mail to Yourself Next Year with FutureMe.org

What a great idea! Maybe it’s just me but the thought of getting an email from myself written a year before is intriguing. Hmmmm, I wonder what my future self will think about it?

Mindful Living

My blog needs a restart today.The following is a piece I found at Mind Deep a blog on mindful living. It is meant to be shared. I pass it along to you.

(Kate the writer of this poem, was unable to speak but occasionally seen to write. After her death, her hospital locker was emptied and this poem was found.)

What do you see nurses what do you see?

Are you thinking when you are looking at me... A crabby old women not very wise,

Uncertain of habit with far away eyes, who dribbles her food and makes no reply, when you say in a loud voice 'I do wish you'd try'

Who seems not to notice the things that you do and forever is losing a stocking or shoe. 

Who unresisting or not let's you do as you will, with bathing or feeding a long day to fill. Is that what you're thinking is that what you see? Then open your eyes nurse you're not looking at me.

I'll tell you who I am.... As I sit here so still, as I use at your bidding and eat at your will. I'm a small child of ten with a father and mother, brothers and sisters who love one another. 

A young girl of sixteen with wings on her feet, dreaming that soon now a lover she'll meet: A bride soon, at twenty my heart gives a leap. Remembering the vows that I promise to keep.

At twenty five now I have young of my own, who need me to build a secure happy home. A young women of thirty my young now grow fast bound to each other with ties that should last. At forty my young ones now grown, will soon be gone but my man stands beside me to see I don't mourn.

At fifty once more babies play round my knee, again we know children my loved one and me. Dark days are upon me my husband is dead, I look at the future, I shudder with dread. For my young are all busy rearing young of their own and I think of the years and the love I have known.

I'm an old women now and nature is cruel, 'I' is her jest to make old age look like a fool. The body it crumbles, grace and vigour depart. There now is a stone where once I had a heart. But inside this old carcase a young girl still dwells and now and again my battered heart swells. 

I remember the joys, I remember the pain and I'm moving and living life over again. I think of the years all too few- gone too fast and accept the stark fact that nothing can last. 

So open your eyes nurses open and see, not a crabbit old women, look closer- see ME.

Wow!

Made in America

Did you know…  According to ABC News, if every American spent just $3.33 more on American made goods, the result would be the creation of almost 10,000 jobs here in the USA! 


That is amazing to me.  I think I’ll start paying more attention to where things are made and try to find an American product if possible. Want to join me?

MIL=Mother in law

Yep, I acquired a new role in the past couple of years. I am a sister, wife, mother, and now a mother in law. My two oldest kids are married and I am a proud mother in law to my son in law and daughter in law.  This is another part of life where there is no manual or instructions. What is a MIL to do?

Just like when my first child was born I had all sorts of crazy ideas about how I was going to raise MY child. Foolishly I proclaimed,"My child will never watch TV, not even Sesame Street.” I was so naive.  Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers saved my sanity most afternoons as my kids were preschoolers.

Well, I had similar naive ideas about being a mother in law.  Initially, I thought it was just like adopting two more kids.  I thought my 3 kid family turned into a 5 kid family. Well. . . it had but not exactly. My new in law kids were all grown up and had a mommy and daddy already.  So the mom hat didn’t fit.

Over the past few years, I’ve learned my MIL job. It’s really simple.  I love and give unconditional acceptance to my in-law kids.  They are wonderful and special.  They love and are devoted to my young’ins. I cherish them. They have enriched the Bell/Sailstad clan in so many ways. Thanks Katie and Josh.

I came across this article,What Makes a Good MIL?  It’s a primer for the learning the ropes as a mother in law. Enjoy!

Done=Summer Dress Challenge

I  forgot how much I enjoy sewing.  My recent adventures into weaving, knitting and spinning took over much of my creative time. I hadn’t sewn for a long time. Making clothes for myself fell by the wayside years ago.

It has been fun renewing my sewing skills and reenergizing my love of sewing.

I intentionally chose an easy pattern. Easy pattern means quick project completion. The most difficult parts of the pattern were the interesting  y-shaped straps on the dress back.

I took time to draw out the seam lines onto the fabric

Carefully snipped the inverted points to get a smooth finish

I lined the top with a purple broad cloth.

TA-DA!

Study: How 'Fake' Fats Can Make You Really Fat

I am determined to lose some weight. More specifically inches. My expanding waist even amazes me.  How did this happen. It was a slow process. Gradually, the inches appeared until I can’t comfortably wear my summer pants. Major bummer.

One thing I thought I had been doing that was calorie wise was eat Skinny Cow bars. But it got to be a Catch-22. I’d eat one and find after I ate it I craved another one. My sugar craving energy remained high.  I thought about eating a Skinny Cow bar most of everyday. Weird! So I stopped those suckers cold turkey.

Fortunately, this is the best time of year to watch what I am eating. There are so many fresh fruits and vegetables at the markets.

My waistline is making progress toward its former self. thank goodness.

This article talks about how artificial sweeteners do not help us lose weight. The article helped me to understand the Skinny Cow=sugar craving phenomena.
Study: How 'Fake' Fats Can Make You Really Fat

Summer Dress Challenge

Found a pattern from Burda. Could download the pattern. 

Woot, woot! It’s amazing that I do not have to drive to a store to get a pattern.

 Online shopping rocks! 

find link to pattern here

I haven’t sewn for myself in ages so I decided to sew a muslin copy first. I only need to do the top piece.  The tiers won’t be a problem.

Fit was good with a few adjustments.

On to cutting out the batik fabric. . . 

to be continued

Listening

Here’s a great article with tips for becoming a better listener.

The writer caught my attention when she said we learn to read and write but we aren’t taught how to listen in school.  That is so true and I have never thought of that before.

Challenge = Summer Dress

My latest challenge =  What to wear when it is so darn hot.  I have a tried and true floor-length sleeveless dress that I got many years ago. Unfortunately it has seen better days.  I slip it on after showering or returning from a day at the beach. Its cool to wear. Best of all it simply hangs and is loose. AND it doesn’t look like an old lady mu-mu.  So I need to replace it and haven’t found any ready to wear options. I’m pulling out the old sewing machine and going to SEW.

My inspiration came from Hancocks of Paducah.  They put  a bunch of batik fabric on sale.

Here’s the fabric I chose.

Next finding a dress pattern.

How Much Water Do You Drink?

Water. I’ve alway had this thing about water. I love it. I love to drink it. Bathe in it. Swim in it. And sometimes simply gaze over a pond or stream.

Most of us drink liquids through out the day, of course. But unfortunately, sodas, coffee and tea are not what the body needs. It needs adequate water to be fully hydrated.

Did you know your brain is like a giant water logged sponge? When we don’t drink enough water, our brain can’t do its job as well. Will drinking more water help me to remember where I left my keys? Maybe.But it certainly can help me feel healthier.

Years ago I learned that the correct amount of water one should consume a day can be figured out simply. Take your weight and divide it in half. That number is how many ounces one needs to drink daily.

So say you are 120 pounds. Divide 120 by 2 equals 60. So you should drink 60 ounces of water a day. That about 6 glasses of water a day.

Here is a really cool way to track how much water you drink a day. It’s a free printable list. Check it out at Wild Olive Blog.

Fairy Tale Wedding

Isn’t this a hoot? 

How Many Friends Can We Really Have?

According to "Dunbar's Number," human beings can maintain a network of only about 150 close friends.  Robin Dunbar is a professor of evolutionary anthropology at the University of Oxford. 


Dr. Dunbar tells how a company with 150 employees remains a close knit group that is more productive and a better place to work than a company with more employees. This research substantiates 'bigger is not better.'


I first noticed our culture's trend to 'largeness' when the mega-schools arrived in the 1990's. My kids were in elementary school then. They did not have cohort of friends from one school year to the next because there were 8-10 other classes at each grade level. The feeling of the school was  anonymity.  Dr. Dunbar’s work speaks of our human need to be know in a community, a community that is of no more than 150 people 
NPR's Rachel Martin interviews the professor and the interview can be found here.

Done

The dresser is complete. It turned out nicely. It even has brass plates on the key holes.